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Family-led services

Please talk with us if your family wishes to lead an interment ceremony at the Cemetery or organise a funeral themselves.

Family-led services are for families who have booked a funeral through a funeral director but have chosen to lead the ceremony at the Cemetery or completely organise the funeral themselves.

Family-led interment service only

If you're working with a funeral director, they will have booked and sent through the interment service paperwork for your loved one.

The funeral director will have advised Hutt City Council that the interment service is going to be led by the family and they will not be in attendance at the Cemetery.
A family representative will need to contact Council at least 24 hours before the interment service.
Council will confirm the date and time of the booking and the details of the deceased with the representative.
Council will also advise them of the location of the plot and provide a map of the area.

Family-led funeral and interment service

If you are completely organising the interment service yourself:

The family representative needs to contact Hutt City Council to book an interment service with a suggested time as soon as possible.
Council will then discuss the process for the interment service with the representative.
Council will confirm the date and time of the booking and the details of the deceased with the representative.
Council will also advise them of the location of the plot and provide a map of the area.

What happens next

To ensure that everything runs smoothly, please follow the process laid out by Council and our Cemetery staff:

The organiser (either the funeral director or the family representative) needs to contact Downer on 021 820 328 when the procession is leaving the funeral service venue.
Downer will then be able to confirm the Cemetery is ready to receive them. It is very important to contact Downer immediately if there are any changes on the day.
We wish to guarantee that all families have the space and time to grieve for their loved one at the time of interment. In order to ensure this happens, Hutt City Council will use their discretion regarding bookings.
It is at Downer’s discretion to refuse entry to the procession, should it turn up earlier than the booked time, if another interment is still in progress. The procession will be granted entry to the Cemetery at its allocated time.
It is also at Downer’s discretion to notify the procession of the time they need to vacate the Cemetery if that procession has arrived considerably later than the booked time and there is another interment booked.

Once the organiser (either the funeral director or the family representative) has the date, time of interment and plot location from Council, the online booking form must be completed.